exSite Support

Cllr. Derek Mitchell said he’s really pleased Greystones harbour boardwalk is currently being built. The developer is currently cutting the large steel piles to the same height and will then put a concrete deck on top during 2017. The walk on the inside of the marina will be closed when this is going on and the Cliff Walk will be through the housing area. Building the apartments will start when the Boardwalk is complete but it will remain closed until the apartments are finished because of the danger when the…

Cairn Homes applied for permission for 192 homes in Charlesland but originally did not commit to building the required Enterprise Units. I objected to this as jobs cannot be created in Greystones unless work units are built. Only 16% of Greystones people work locally compared to 29% in Bray. Probably the greatest dependency on commuting of any town in Leinster and is unsustainable. Jobs are urgently required as we can’t all commute on the overcrowded N11 or DART. Yet all developers want is to build houses. I am glad that…

Wicklow County Council agreed the revised parking regulations which have been discussed over the last year. The charging period will start at 10 am and end 6 pm for Greystones, Wicklow, Arklow with Bray starting at 9 am. There will be a 15 minute grace period which will be marked on the meter. Cllr Derek Mitchell (FG) said that for Greystones this will encourage early shopping and allow short term shopping. It should encourage more turnover of the spaces and be better for the shops. It was also decided not to charge for the large…

Cllr Derek Mitchell (FG) went to a seminar on Dublin bus route redesign which was interesting but theoretical. Detailed proposals will be out in the Autumn which could be a radical redesign across the entire Dublin Bus network ‘I spotted a basic mistake on the Greystones DART frequency and got it corrected. I had a list of my proposals and some ones collected in a survey which I sent in afterwards’. These included: · Busses on M50 to, Cherrywood, Sandyford, Luas, Dundrum, Citwest, Blanchardstown, Airport. To get people out of cars…

On Tuesday, Transport Ireland released the, long awaited, report on how to improve the N11/M50. This report was started in 2014 after Ministers Simon Harris, Andrew Doyle, Cllr Derek Mitchell and John Ryan met with Leo Varadakar, then Minister for Transport. It recommends: 3 lanes from the M50 to Kilmacanoge J9. These can mostly be fitted into the space of the wide central margin. Bridge over the Dargle at Fassaroe for local traffic. Service roads/lanes both sides from Fassaroe to Kilmac. Some land needs to be acquired on the West…

Great to see Greystones Rowing Club opening their new premise at the harbour on Sunday. The club was founded in 1926 and up to now had no premise for storing boats or changing rooms. The club has over 130 members, 3 clinker built long wooden rowing boats and over 40 kayaks. The boat storage compound and shell of the premise was built as part of the harbour project and fitted out by the members. ‘This is a great facility for adults and children and will encourage more use of the…

The Eastern Regional Authority is requesting that the N11/M50 upgrade gets funding under the National Capital Plan. This upgrade is not currently funded and it is important that it is included in a review currently taking place. The Authority stretches from Louth to Wicklow so it is useful to have got them to recommend it is funded. I am pleased to have got them to agree as it is important to try to get outside bodies to recommend that this is done before Wicklow seizes up. The National Roads Authority…

A section of the front wall of the La Touche Hotel Greystones has collapsed in the March storms. Cllr Derek Mitchell has again called for a Derelict Site Notice to be applied which means the developer will be charged a 3% tax on the site value. ‘this got the site tidied up before. Also I now want it investigated under the Dangerous buildings legislation as it looks unsafe’. The developer has planning permission for 27 houses on the site, including 5 in the old shell but he has done nothing.

Work has started on the permanent Marina building to replace the temporary office for the Harbourmaster and toilets/showers. This will have a restaurant on the first floor which should be a good addition to the area. This should be complete by the end of the year. Meanwhile the Marina Village is expected to have 50 houses occupied by the Summer and will start building the apartments during this Summer. These will have basement parking and the soil from this will start the construction of the 15 acre public park at…

Cairn Homes has applied for planning permission for 192 houses in Charlesland. Councillors have zoned large amounts of land for employment but neither the IDA nor the Charlesland commercial site are being developed so there is nowhere for industry, small or large, to go. We need jobs to match the recent house expansion as we can’t all commute on the overcrowded N11 or DART. 10 years ago I wrote a paper with the Chamber of Commerce and on the need for a Community Enterprise Centre for start up businesses. These…